The present invention pertains to dairy-based and plant-based food products and, more particularly, to the production of dairy-based and plant-based food products.
It has been found that, when consumers are deciding which of a selection of goods to purchase, consumers consider the packaging of the different goods. Accordingly, it is important to evaluate the packaging of goods when offering goods for sale, especially if the goods are sold adjacent to competing goods. In the context of food products, food products are often sold in supermarkets next to other competing products. As such, significant effort is frequently put into creating food product packaging that both grabs the attention of consumers and makes the products more appealing upon inspection.
Regarding products such as yogurt, other cultured dairy products (e.g., sour cream), mousse and pudding, these products are sometimes sold packaged with additional ingredients. Such ingredients can include fruit, granola, nuts and chocolate, for example. The ingredients can be pre-mixed with the yogurt, mousse or pudding, or the ingredients can be packaged with the expectation that the consumer will mix all the ingredients together prior to or during consumption, as with fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, for example. For fruit-on-the-bottom-type products, it is desirable to be able to highlight the fruit by ensuring that the fruit is visible through the sidewalls of the product packaging. This can be accomplished by depositing the fruit in the center of the packaging and then forcing the fruit to the sidewalls using a blast of air, as discussed in U.S. application Ser. No. 15/797,154, which is incorporated herein by reference. Once the fruit is in contact with the sidewalls, it is important not to simply wash the fruit back off the sidewalls when depositing the yogurt, mousse or pudding (or the liquid that will form this product) into the packaging. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a way to gently fill product containers such that ingredients in contact with the sidewalls of the containers are not washed off the sidewalls when the containers are filled.
It would also be desirable to eliminate drips during filling to ensure that no product ends up on the portion of the container that is sealed. Otherwise, this leads to leaks in the seal and the need for high sealing forces, making it difficult for a consumer to open the container. Further, it would be desirable for the filling apparatus to be easy to clean.